Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet conveyance device including an openable-closable guide member and an image forming apparatus including the sheet conveyance device.
Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a sheet conveyance device has been provided with a configuration for opening a guide member included in a conveyance guide for solving paper jam arising in the conveyance guide. Some sheet conveyance devices employ guide members configured to be self-holdable in an opened state for solving the paper jam with one hand. A configuration for holding a guide member with a damper (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-87875) and a configuration for holding a guide member in an opened state with a magnetic catch have been provided as examples of the self holding method. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 8,478,165 discusses a guide configured to be closable and openable by engaging a fixed member provided on a cover member having the guide with a fixing member provided on a main unit, and disengaging the engagement.
However, the configuration using a damper is problematic in the following aspects. First, the damper is costly. Further, because the weight of the guide member is held in the opened state by the force of the damper, a user has to close the guide member against the force of the damper, and thus an operation force of the user is increased.
As for the configuration using a magnetic catch, similar to the configuration using a damper, the user has to close the guide member against the force of the magnetic catch, so that it is problematic in that the operation force of the user is increased.
Furthermore, in the configuration of closing and opening the guide member by engaging the fixed member with the fixing member and disengaging the engagement, the following problem may arise. Because the disengaging operation is performed by operating only a single member, there is such a risk that the guide member is opened or closed without intention of a user when the user touches, by mistake, the member for performing disengagement.